Bitcoin price began descending yesterday, 10 August, with acceleration becoming evident today during the US trading session. At the time of writing, the Bitstamp exchange price has entered a holding pattern around $575. Additional downside seems inevitable, and chart analysis suggests that the current wave down may be the last. However, it may also be […]

Remember bitcoin? Today the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a lengthy set of risks that the cryptocurrency poses to early adopters. The list is somewhat decent in its content, though I suspect the bitcoin faithful will find its tone to be overly negative. That same contingent will likely also find it encouraging that the CFPB is paying bitcoin any mind at all. The CPFB has… Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Virtual currencies such as bitcoin are the "Wild West" of financial products because of risks including huge swings in exchange rates, the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said on Monday.

"Virtual currencies are not backed by any government or central bank, and at this point consumers are stepping into the Wild West when they engage in the market," CFPB Director Richard Cordray said in a statement.

In a consumer advisory, the agency noted that bitcoin fell as much 80 percent against the U.S. dollar in a single day this year, exposing investors to massive potential losses.

Other risks include the fact that online or virtual currencies have been a target for hackers while some virtual currency companies have provided little help in cases where funds were lost or stolen, the CFPB said.

Bitcoin, the best-known virtual currency, started circulating in 2009. Incidents that have brought the currency under new regulatory scrutiny include the failure of Mt. Gox, a Tokyo-based exchange that filed for bankruptcy after losing an estimated $650 million worth of customer bitcoins.

Unlike conventional money, bitcoin is generated by computers and is independent of control or backing by any government. That is something its proponents like, but it has led to calls for more oversight and guidance on issues including U.S. tax treatment.

The U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network last year classified administrators or exchangers of bitcoin as money transmitters, which puts them under the remit of state regulators.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a federal regulator, is studying whether it has jurisdiction, given that some firms are considering offering bitcoin derivatives.

And the U.S. Internal Revenue Service has designated bitcoin and other virtual currencies as property, not currency, for tax purposes, a decision that made it less attractive to for investors to hold much value in bitcoins.

But the CFPB, a federal agency set up after the 2007-09 financial crisis, had so far been mum on the issue, causing a rebuke from the Government Accountability Office, which said last month the CFPB should step up its role in overseeing bitcoin.

The GAO's report had been requested by Senator Tom Carper, a Democrat from Delaware, and the head of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. Carper is conducting his own investigation into bitcoin.

Founded in 2012, London-based Payza is a relatively new online payments platform that competes with services like PayPal. Payza’s personal accounts let users transfer money internationally and purchase various goods online. Business accounts are used by merchants to process payments, issue invoices, and manage other aspects of running a company. However, unlike some of its […]

Jerry the Bear is an interactive tool that empowers children with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) to master their medical procedures. The company behind Jerry, Sproutel, is reinventing diabetes education through play. Last year, just two percent of children with the condition played with Jerry, fed him food, checked his blood sugar levels and gave him insulin. Now, the company has sets its sights on a higher goal: getting Jerry in the hands of every child diagnosed with T1D, a vision that, with the help of Bitcoin, can help change the lives of over 12,000 children. This beneficial tool gives children the power to learn everything about their condition in a manner that is completely interactive and challenging. Jerry the Bear […]

Ask a taxi driver anywhere, from NYC to Kathmandu, what they think about the price of oil, and you’re likely to get a comprehensive answer, including an opinion about the Gold price – and perhaps, Bitcoin’s next rally. Information about commodity prices and their causal relationships is pervasive, and most people have not only an […]

The development of cryptocurrencies has been fascinating to watch. In only five years, thousands of currencies emerged from the Internet following the release of the original Bitcoin protocol. Clearly, we are witnessing paradigm shifts in regards to commercial and legal frameworks, economic theory on money, and new avenues for self-expression. One of the more interesting social consequences of cryptocurrency has been the drive to regionalize. Independent ethnicities, kingdoms, and linguistic traditions can develop a sense of identity by using specific currency. Coins like MazaCoin (in this case, used by the Lakota people) allow rallying around tribal or national pride. They can also serve political functions. Scotland, for example, has explicitly laid out a referendum in September 2014 for the people […]

Cryptocurrency in its current state is largely a movement against the traditional banking system. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t use the platform to store value long-term, and recently, even to earn interest on your savings mimicking the nature of fiat bank accounts. For security and practicality reasons, it is recommendable when storing considerable forms […]